


Endangered

by Namarie



Category: Fringe
Genre: Crack, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-07
Updated: 2011-12-07
Packaged: 2017-10-27 01:39:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/290255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Namarie/pseuds/Namarie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter and Olivia find themselves in a situation neither of them could ever have imagined.<br/>Set in season 3 sometime after "LSD", with spoilers for the series up to that point.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Endangered

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Mack_the_Spoon for her beta.

~  
“So which one's your favorite?”

Olivia turned her gaze away from the window in front of them. “My favorite what? Gorilla? There's the big guy in the back just watching everything going on – he seems like a character.”

Peter smiled and shook his head. “Your favorite animal here, I mean.”

Olivia pondered for a moment before she told him, “I guess it would have to be either the lion or the tiger. They're both so beautiful and powerful.”

“They are,” Peter agreed, taking her hand as they strolled out of the gorilla exhibit. “You want to go look at them again?”

“Sure.” Olivia watched a little girl run past them into the exhibit, with her mother hurrying to follow. She reminded herself to invite Rachel and Ella here the next time they were in town. Ella would love it, she was sure. “So, what's your favorite?”

“Well, I like the tropical birds, and the big cats,” Peter answered, “but I think my absolute favorite has to be the giraffes. They're absolutely ridiculous-looking, but they obviously don't care. You gotta admire them for that.”

Olivia laughed. “You have a good point there.”

“Plus,” Peter continued, “they can kill a lion with a single blow of a hoof, which is pretty impressive.”

Raising an eyebrow, Olivia murmured her agreement.

The two of them continued on their leisurely way back toward the Serengeti and Kalahari areas of the zoo. Peter was in the middle of an amusing tale about the time he tried to catch a cougar in his boyhood backyard when Olivia became aware of a feeling they were being watched. She looked around as unobtrusively as possible, and thought she caught a glimpse of someone ducking into the restaurant they had just passed. She wasn't sure whether the guy had seen her see him or not.

As she listened to Peter's story, Olivia kept alert for any further signs of pursuit. She was just starting to think she'd imagined it when there was another quick dart of movement at the edge of her field of vision. Her grip on Peter's hand tightened.

“What?” Peter halted both his story and his forward motion, looking at Olivia in concern. “What's wrong, Olivia?”

“Don't look now,” Olivia muttered, trying to keep a neutral expression on her face, “but I think someone's following us. They have been for a few minutes.”

Peter waited a few seconds before casually glancing over his shoulder. They started walking again, and then he said in a low voice, “I didn't see anything unusual. Are you sure?”

Sighing, Olivia said, “No, not completely. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.” She looked around again and then shrugged. It had been such a perfect day so far. She didn't want to spoil it by making something out of nothing. “Let's just go look at the lions.”

Peter didn't seem convinced. “We could head for the exit if you want--”

“No, it's okay,” Olivia said. She tugged on his hand lightly. “So I'm guessing your cougar trap wasn't successful?”

After another second, Peter resumed his story. They arrived at the Kalahari exhibit without incident (unless dodging a group of excited kids on a field trip counted, Olivia supposed). The sensation of being watched did not return.

They swung by the tiger exhibit on their way back toward the entrance. Olivia was slightly disappointed that the tigers seemed to have decided to take a nap out of public view, but as she said to Peter, it probably got old to have a bunch of people staring at you all day. Peter couldn't disagree.

It was as they were walking to the edge of the lot, where Olivia had parked, when the feeling came back. Olivia looked around again but saw nothing. She was about to ask Peter if he saw anything when she felt something sharp bite into her leg. “Ow!”

“What-- ouch!”

Olivia saw the dart in her leg and tried to pull it out, but the tranquilizer was already hitting her hard. The last thing she saw before she crumpled to the ground was Peter staggering and falling next to her.

~

Olivia could hear someone talking nearby, but it was oddly muffled – and it was so hard to stay awake. She tried her best to concentrate, but all she could determine was that there was a man's voice, talking to a woman. She couldn't move, and her body and limbs felt extremely odd. There was a warmth that seemed to be spreading through her, very slowly. Even this limited awareness faded soon after she discovered these facts.

Some unknown time later, Olivia began to wake up. She could hear and feel that she was in a vehicle traveling at freeway speed. Strangely, she could also smell gasoline more strongly than she would expect, along with a variety of other scents. When she cracked open her eyes, though, almost no light met them. She opened them all the way – and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she nearly screamed in shock.

There, not three feet from her face, was a large cage that contained a sleeping tiger. This extraordinary revelation distracted her for a few seconds from the fact that she was staring at the cat from out of the bars of the cage in which she herself was evidently being held. She was also lying down ... but it felt much different from the way she was used to feeling when she was lying on her stomach.

With more than a little bit of foreboding, Olivia looked down at herself. She saw orange fur with black stripes covering her ... paws, and the rest of her body.

 _What the hell?!_ Instinctively, Olivia got to her feet – all four of them – her heart starting to race. But she found she couldn't stay upright for long; she felt too woozy. She collapsed back onto the metal floor of the cage, shutting her eyes as the dizziness passed. _This can't possibly be happening. I have to be dreaming, or hallucinating, or something._

Olivia opened her eyes slowly, to find that her circumstances had not changed in the slightest. She was still in a cage, still across from another cage that held a sleeping tiger, and still apparently a tiger herself. Then a thought occurred to her. _Peter!_ He had been with her when they were attacked, and she could remember him falling as he was hit with the same tranquilizer dart as she had been.

As she thought about Peter, Olivia noticed the tiger in the other cage starting to stir. It blinked and yawned, showing off very impressive teeth, before it seemed to take note of where it was. Then its eyes opened wide, and its ears flattened against its head as it scrambled ungracefully as far away from Olivia's cage as it could. Its tail was lashing. It gave a low growl, which stopped quickly as the animal looked around in evident bewilderment.

Olivia couldn't help feeling sorry for the creature, even as she continued to worry about Peter. Had Peter been changed, somehow, like she had been? But in that case...

She fixed her gaze on the other tiger, which had just struggled to its feet again. It didn't look anything like him – but of course it didn't. She shook her head, darkly amused. No reason it would. She doubted she looked anything like herself, either. But she had to try, to see if there was any way she could even communicate with him, if it really was him.

Olivia managed to get into a sitting position without a return of the dizziness. She might feel foolish, she thought, trying to reach out to Peter telepathically, if she weren't already transformed into a tiger. As it was, she just closed her eyes and concentrated on him. _Peter? Is that you there? Are you the other--_ She faltered for a moment. The insanity of the situation made it hard for her to put it into words, but there didn't seem to be any other options. _Are you the other tiger? I don't know what happened, but if you can hear me, can you give me some sign? I'm ... right across from you, in the other cage._

Olivia opened her eyes. The tiger in the other cage had frozen, staring at her. As she watched, it approached the front of its cage. She didn't think she was imagining it that its – his? – eyes looked desperate, almost frantic. Then there was a flash of sensation in her mind, a brief moment when she was sure she'd felt what Peter was feeling right now: terror, confusion, and a little bit of hope. No words accompanied these emotions.

 _Peter, it's me. It's Olivia. Is that you?_ Olivia asked again, this time keeping her eyes open and her gaze on the other tiger. She did her best to focus, as if she could attune herself more to his mind. _Can you hear me?_

Several seconds passed. Olivia was starting to worry when the silence was broken. _Oh, God_ , she heard in her head – and somehow, the voice sounded just like Peter's. _I really must be losing it. It can't be her. There's no way in hell any of this can actually be happening ... but at least I'm not ... lost. Or whatever that was._

Olivia all but pressed her face into the bars of her cage. _Peter_ , she said, almost dizzy again with relief at hearing his voice – even if it was just his voice in her head. _That *is* you, isn't it?_

The other tiger blinked, coming even closer to the bars of the cage as well. There was another pause. _Olivia? You can hear me?_

 _Yes._ Olivia wished she could smile, or reach out to him in some more tangible way. _This is me. I woke up like this, just a few seconds before you did._

She could feel a mixture of relief and doubt coming from him. _Um, okay. If-- if that's you, and you can really hear me, can you, I don't know, turn around in a circle or something?_

Without hesitation, Olivia did so, trying not to be too distracted by the still-new sensation of moving on four legs, and with a tail. As soon as she was facing toward him again, Peter sat down. He was still as close to the front of his cage as possible. _Oh my God. Olivia._

The emotion in the way he said her name made Olivia's heart ache. She wished again that there was some way to be closer to him. _Yeah. I'm here._

There was a brief pause. _And where is here, do you think?_ Peter asked. She was glad that his mental tone was starting to sound more confident, less lost. _Because besides the fact that we're both in cages, changed into tigers somehow, and inside the back of a truck, I don't have a clue._

 _Me neither_ , Olivia admitted. She sighed – which was a bizarre sensation in her new body. _I remember getting hit with a tranquilizer dart while we were walking to my car, and then I think I remember hearing someone talking to another person, but I have no idea how we could have ended up ... how and where we are now._

Peter was silent for another moment. _Do you think this could have something to do with the guy you thought was following us at the zoo?_

 _I suppose so_ , Olivia said. _It seems like a pretty big coincidence, otherwise._ She glanced around the dimly lit interior of the truck. The only other objects she could make out were a few boxes and crates. When she inhaled and focused on her heightened feline sense of smell, there wasn't a lot of new information. Except...

 _Peter, can you smell that? Coming from the other end of the truck?_

She watched as Peter turned in that direction and opened his mouth in a sort of grimace. It was odd – but maybe she had looked the same way just seconds ago. She thought she remembered some nature program she'd watched once that had informed her that felines and certain other animals processed some olfactory data through their mouths. Walter could probably tell her all about it, she mused.

 _Yeah, I think I do_ , Peter replied. _It's chemical, I'd say. Something you'd find in a lab. Faint, but definitely there. Too bad neither of us can use our fabulous feline senses of smell to narrow that down any further._

Olivia chuckled (not audibly, since tigers didn't seem to be equipped for that). _Too bad_ , she agreed. _But maybe that can help us figure out what kind of people could do this?_

 _Well, it's not too surprising that whoever it was is some kind of scientist_ , Peter pointed out. _I mean, unless we've fallen victim to a magic spell, it has to be genetic manipulation, right?_

She wished she could shrug. _You're probably right – although it could also some kind of memory or personality transfer. We've dealt with that kind of thing before_. Olivia still had the bad dreams and occasional headaches to prove it, in fact.

He acknowledged that quietly, and there was a flash of his lingering guilt and anger in connection with that before he continued, _But I don't think the goal of this whole thing was to put a human consciousness into an animal. For one thing, it seems like from what you remember and what I remember, we were unconscious for a long time before we ended up here – longer than it takes to transfer consciousness. And for another thing_ , he added, and then stopped.

 _What?_ Olivia once again started to feel fear from him.

It was Peter's turn to sigh. _I don't think they really intended us to have any human personality left, Olivia,_ he told her. His tail lashed, and he looked away. _When I woke up, I was aware enough of the circumstances that I was scared and confused, but it was like I had to fight to remember why it was so different – what had changed. If you hadn't started talking to me, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have taken long for me to be gone._

Olivia's heart ached again as she imagined him struggling not to lose his identity. It was not an experience she wanted him to have in common with her. _Then I'm glad I tried talking to you_ , she said softly. _I had no idea if it would work, but I had to try._

Peter thanked her, his sincerity clear. He had just begun to ask a question when the sound of the truck they were in changed, and then both of them slid toward the front of the vehicle as it started down what was evidently a steep hill. Olivia's tiger instincts did not like having nothing to brace herself against on the slick metal floor of the cage – and neither did she, of course. At least, she reflected sourly, it didn't hurt too much when she crashed into the bars on the other side.

 _Well,_ Peter said in a dry tone, after they had both recovered their equilibrium, _that was fun._

 _Yeah, a real blast_ , Olivia muttered. _Nice of whoever is behind this to have secured us with so much care_.

 _At least they did make sure we won't crash into each other_ , Peter observed, looking toward the wall of the vehicle on his side where there were bolts securing the bars of the cage to the wall of the truck.

 _That's something, I guess._ Olivia looked at the wall to which her own cage was fastened. This evidence of long-term planning gave her an idea. _Hey, Peter, doesn't it seem like if these people have cages set up like this, we might not be the first ones they've done this to?_

He sounded intrigued. _Yeah, you're right. So the question is, why would someone want to kidnap people, turn them into animals, and transport them to wherever we're being taken?_

As she considered the question, the truck made an unpleasantly sharp left turn – and once again, the two of them found themselves sliding haplessly toward the bars of their cages. Holding back a growl with difficulty, Olivia had to marvel that whoever was behind this apparently didn't care about provoking the large carnivores they were transporting by putting them in this situation. _God, that's annoying_ , she grumbled, her ears flat against her head in irritation.

 _I could sure go for a seatbelt right about now_ , Peter agreed. He picked himself up with care.

 _Anyway, though_ , Olivia said as the truck finally finished the turn, _getting back to your question. The only thing I can think of is some kind of smuggling operation. But if this was genetic manipulation, there has to be a reason we ended up as tigers, and not some other animal._ She shook her head, still finding it hard to accept the reality of their predicament.

 _Smuggling would seem to fit reasonably well,_ Peter said thoughtfully. _And we can assume it took them time, effort, and resources to do the genetic modifications, so their end goal must involve us staying alive_.

Olivia blinked, and then recalled another fact from that nature program she had seen. _Oh, you mean you don't think they're selling us for traditional medicine? That's reassuring_. She couldn't help being reminded of the alternate Brandon's plans for her on the Other Side once they'd gotten what they wanted from her. The thought made her feel ill. She shivered, and was suddenly glad she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

 _No, if they have the ability to change human DNA into tiger DNA_ , Peter mused, _it seems probable that they could create their own black market organs if they wanted to._ He lay down on his side, still facing her. _In which case, what do they want with a pair of live tigers?_

 _Well_ , Olivia said, thankful for the reason not to dwell on bad memories, _tigers are endangered, right? Maybe they're trying to get money from selling endangered animals to groups or zoos or whoever might want them_.

 _Now, that could be it. I mean, it's still a lot of effort and risk, kidnapping people and changing them – but maybe we're dealing with zealots._

 _Environmental activists, you mean, taking the fight against animal extinction one step further?_ Olivia pondered it. The idea seemed plausible, or at least as plausible as anything in this situation could seem. _But activists, especially those who cross the line into eco-terrorism, aren't generally in favor of zoos_ , she pointed out. _Which would suggest that's not where we're going._

 _That's true_ , Peter acknowledged. Then his mental tone darkened. _Oh, damn it. Wouldn't that be just fantastic?_

 _What? What are you thinking?_

Peter took a deep breath. _If they really are zealots for the cause_ , he said, _maybe they're trying to bring us back to our homeland – which is to say, whichever country this kind of tiger is supposed to be from_.

 _Oh_. Olivia didn't know the full extent of the natural range of all the different kinds of tigers, but she was fairly certain that all of them were on the other side of the world. _Damn it_.

 _Exactly_. He sounded close to hopeless.

Olivia couldn't really blame him; their situation was serious. She had no idea if their genetic tampering could be reversed, and even if it could, if they ended up in the jungles of some remote tropical country, how the hell would they ever get home?

 _So that means we have to escape somehow, before they put us on a plane across the ocean_ , she declared. She wanted to stand up and pace, but even if there were enough space in her cage, she couldn't be sure that the truck wouldn't take another sharp turn and knock her off her feet. _There has to be a way to do it._

 _If you have any ideas, I'd be happy to hear them_ , Peter replied. _These bodies are pretty strong, sure, but I don't think they can break through solid metal bars._

Olivia shot him a look, although it probably lost something in her current form. _Uh huh, which is why I was thinking we would concentrate on the doors._

They both spent several minutes examining the doors of their cages. The lock mechanism was not overly complex on hers, Olivia found, and Peter reported that his was similar. It was just a basic lock and key system. Unfortunately, it was still strong enough that no amount of pushing against the hinges or the other side of the door had any noticeable effect, and the cage ceiling was too low for either of them to get any real leverage.

 _Okay_ , Olivia said, panting from the effort and trying not to give in to despair. _Maybe there will be a time when we're somewhere less secure, on the way to wherever they're taking us. I mean, it's a long trip overseas, and depending on where they want us to end up, we might have to travel across the country first. We just have to stay alert as much as we can._

Peter nodded, which looked odd, coming from a tiger. _Right._ She could tell he didn't really think it was going to happen, but at least he wasn't being overtly negative.

The two of them fell silent for some time. Olivia rested her head on her paws, listening idly to the hum of the truck engine and the occasional sound of a car passing in the opposite direction. She was startled out of her near-doze when Peter remarked, _I bet Walter is wondering where we are by now._

 _I'm sure he is_ , Olivia said, shifting so that it was a little easier to see Peter. _You told him we'd be back for dinner, didn't you?_

 _Yep._ Peter yawned again, and added, _And speaking of dinner, I hope they're going to feed us at some point. I'm getting hungry._

Olivia twitched her tail. _And if they do feed us – which they should, if they're all for saving the animals – we'll know more of who we're dealing with._

 _They'll be expecting us to act like normal tigers_ , Peter cautioned, _so when we do see them--_

 _What? Don't try reasoning with them? I wasn't planning on it_ , Olivia interrupted shortly. Then she sighed. _Sorry. I just..._

 _I know_ , Peter said. _We've both been in a lot of bizarre and dangerous situations – but this one might just take the cake. I doubt even Walter would imagine a scenario in which we were kidnapped by environmental activists and transformed into big cats, even if he'd just self-medicated._

Olivia laughed once before sobering. _You're probably right. But who knows – there might be security camera footage from the zoo parking lot, at least._

 _Could be._ Peter paused, and then said hesitantly, _Olivia, there is one other thing I can think of that could possibly get us out of here._

She had a suspicion of where this was going, but she asked, anyway. _And what would that be?_

 _Have you thought about trying to use your abilities?_ Before she could say anything, he continued, _Because I was thinking, there's no reason the genetic manipulation would have gotten rid of them. It might be that that's the reason you were able to keep yourself from losing your identity and your memories when you first woke up. And it could be how you were able to start talking to me telepathically._

 _You're talking to me telepathically right now_ , Olivia pointed out, _and you were never treated with Cortexiphan_.

Sounding exasperated, Peter said, _Okay, so that part doesn't make sense. That's not the main issue._

 _Peter_ , Olivia protested, _I don't know what I'm doing with those abilities. I don't know how to use them. All I've managed to do is turn off some lights – unless you count what I apparently did at Jacksonville when I was a kid._ The memory of that burnt-out room still haunted her.

 _You made it back to this universe by yourself,_ Peter reminded her gently.

 _But I'd just given myself a massive dose of Cortexiphan_ , Olivia said, trying not to dwell on her final memory of the Other Side's Broyles. She swallowed, hating how scared she sounded. _And besides, what do you expect me to do? I'm not crossing over just to get out of here. Even if I could, if I knew I could get back, that would be leaving you behind. I'm not going to do that. I can't._ At the very thought of returning to that universe, especially now, leaving Peter at the mercy of their kidnappers, she was close to panic.

Peter's voice was calm, compassionate. _That's not what I meant, Olivia. I wouldn't ask you to do that._

She tried to calm herself. He wasn't glimmering, a part of her noticed. Perhaps the gene therapy had somehow removed the evidence of his origins – or maybe her abilities were actually gone. Or maybe she just couldn't see it through tiger's eyes. _So, what then?_

He turned his gaze toward the door of his cage and then back to her. _Maybe opening the locks on these doors is close enough to turning off the lights that you could do something similar._

Olivia thought about it. She still didn't really know how she'd managed to turn off the lights on the bomb that Jones had devised; it had been the only option, that was all. She met Peter's eyes for a moment. _I really don't know, but I guess--_

Her tentative statement was interrupted by the sensation of the truck beginning to decelerate. At least the reduction in speed meant that when it took a right turn, the two occupants of the cages didn't slide around quite as dramatically. Still, Olivia was tense at this indication that they might be seeing their captors face to face sometime soon – and she could feel that Peter was getting anxious as well. She tried to brace herself as much as she could. If she was going to make her move, now would be the time to do it, before the two of them were tranquilized again in preparation for the next stage of their journey.

Despite her resolve, though, it proved impossible for her to concentrate on using her abilities to unlock her cage. Wherever the truck was now headed, it seemed to be traveling on only the roughest, most pothole-filled roads available. Every time Olivia thought the jolts and jars had passed, they would start up again.

 _It's like they're doing this on purpose_ , Peter complained, looking and sounding miserable as he curled up in the corner of his cage.

 _Yeah_. Olivia was sure she would have more than a few bruises when they finally stopped. She wondered if their guess that they were dealing with environmental activists was incorrect, since these people didn't seem to care about the well-being of the animals they were transporting enough to have provided some kind of cushion for this phase of the trip. She was also becoming more and more sure that it was a very good thing for their captors that she and Peter hadn't been able to break free yet. Otherwise, human personalities or no, it would be really hard to resist attacking them at this point.

Not too much later, the truck finally came to a stop. Olivia met Peter's eye as they heard the driver and passenger side doors open and shut. They both waited, but though there was the sound of footsteps coming around to the back of the truck, it didn't open.

“Well, he's supposed to meet us here,” a man's voice said suddenly.

There was a sigh. “I guess he's late,” a different guy said. “Let's eat lunch while we wait.”

The first guy agreed, and their footsteps faded as they walked away from the truck.

 _Great. So they're just going to leave us here?_ Peter asked incredulously. _And then on top of that, they had to go and talk about food._

Olivia had to give the mental equivalent of a smile at that. _Seriously. Don't they know it's not polite to eat a meal without offering it to your guests?_ she remarked.

Just then, there was the sound of another vehicle approaching. The engine sounded like it belonged to a smaller car. It pulled to a stop to the right of the truck. Olivia and Peter didn't have to wait in suspense for long before the driver started to speak. “Hey, get over here,” she called. “What the hell do you guys think you're doing?”

After a few seconds, during which Olivia heard the footsteps of the two men coming closer again, the first guy who had spoken replied, “We're just eating lunch. It's after 12:45.”

“I don't care if it's dark outside,” the woman snapped. “You're being paid to transport some very important cargo to a specific location, and we are on a time schedule. You can eat later.”

Under the sound of footsteps coming closer to the back of the truck, Olivia caught the other man muttering something about how they weren't the ones who had arrived late to the meeting point.

The footsteps stopped. “I was not late,” the woman shot back. “I was on time, and you two were early, which probably means you were driving too fast. If you hurt these animals in any way...” The threat was left unfinished. There was the sound of keys jingling, and then within a few seconds, the back of the truck was unlocked. Olivia exchanged another glance with Peter as her heart started to pound. She wished there were some way of knowing what was about to happen to them.

When the door rolled up, Olivia couldn't stop herself from drawing back and hissing as the light struck her eyes. Thankfully it didn't take too long for her to adjust to the brightness – although being able to see meant she was aware of the intense scrutiny she was undergoing from the woman who had opened the door. The mixture of clinical detachment and barely-concealed avarice in her gaze reminded Olivia again all too much of her treatment at the hands of Walternate's scientists. That association caused her to growl, almost involuntarily.

The woman hardly paused in her examination. Pushing her graying brown hair behind her ear, she nodded in satisfaction, and then took a step closer to Peter's cage to begin her next visual examination. Olivia watched as his ears went back, though he stayed silent.

“Well,” the woman said after she finished, “two superb specimens of _Panthera tigris sumatrae_. They appear to be in good condition, no thanks to their handling on the way here.” This remark seemed to be addressed to herself, although the two truck drivers were standing within earshot. “I'll have to compliment Dr. Berg on his work when I talk to him next.”

Olivia forced herself not to react outwardly to this last statement, but she filed it away for future reference as the name of the probable culprit in modifying Peter's and her DNA. He would certainly be an accessory to their kidnapping, as well.

“So,” one of the men asked, “are we good to go, then?” He was the shorter of the two drivers, and by his voice, he was the one who'd made the snide comment about being late.

The woman didn't bother to look in his direction. “After we give them their lunch, yes.”

“They get to eat before we do?” the other guy said in what was obviously meant to be a jocular tone. His companion laughed.

Smiling thinly, the woman finally turned to face them as she said, “I don't think you really want to be driving a truck with two irritated and hungry full-grown tigers in the back, do you?”

“Good point,” the joker said, clearing his throat.

The three of them walked in the direction of the woman's car. As soon as they were out of sight, Olivia turned to Peter. _I guess we're getting fed after all._

 _Yeah,_ Peter replied, his tail twitching. _But somehow I still don't feel a lot better about the situation._

 _So it's not just me who thinks there's something very wrong about that woman?_ Olivia said.

Peter scoffed. _No. Definitely not just you. And if it weren't for the fact that we know that our old friend Dr. Fischer is still in prison for experimentation on humans, I'd be wondering if he were in on this somehow, too._

Further conversation was halted by the return of the three humans. The men were each holding a long, pointed metal pole with a slab of what smelled like raw beef on the end. The woman simply watched as they each slowly brought their offerings closer to the cages. Although she was in fact ravenous, Olivia waited until the meat was guided between the bars of her cage before she grabbed it with both front paws and pulled it to the ground. She thought Peter might be doing something similar, but all of her focus was on the food for the moment. The man holding the pole let out a startled exclamation when she struck and nearly dropped it. Olivia ignored his reaction in favor of pulling the entire cut of meat off the pole with her teeth. It was still partially frozen, and the cold was unpleasant on her tongue and teeth, but she dug in anyway.

“That should be enough to keep them happy until we get to the facility,” the woman said. She coughed and then added, “You two can finish your lunch while I make a few calls.”

“Sounds good,” one of them replied, with more than a touch of sarcasm.

Olivia looked up from her meal briefly to see the men and the woman go out of sight. It was hard for her to stay distracted for long, though. Tigers evidently took eating very seriously, based on how strongly her instincts were driving her not to worry about other things at the moment. Her human self, meanwhile, was just trying not to dwell on the fact that she was eating raw, bloody meat.

It didn't take long for the two of them to finish their meal. Olivia took a look at Peter after she was done, and saw that he was already cleaning off his face and paws with his tongue. He caught her look, and without stopping, he said, _What? It's not like we have any napkins or paper towels, and it's perfectly normal behavior for a cat._

 _Oh, I know_ , she replied. She began the same process for herself as she remarked, _It's just strange, is all. Not something I would have guessed I'd be doing today._

Peter stared at her for a second as if he might want to say something to that, but he remained silent.

A minute later, there was a quick conferral outside during which it was determined that the woman – addressed by one of the men as Dr. West – would lead the truck to the site, which was about two more hours' distance from here. Though they were both listening as carefully as they could, nothing was revealed about what would happen once they got to their destination.

Dr. West walked to the back of the truck again. Her eyes traveled over Peter and Olivia, and she smiled again – a calculating smile that made Olivia want to growl again. Then she pulled the door shut, plunging them back into comparative darkness.

 _Two more hours of driving to look forward to_ , Peter said with a sigh. _I don't know if it would be worse or better if we had a clearer idea of what this Dr. West and her associates had planned for us._

Olivia though once again of her experience Over There. _Trust me_ , she answered grimly, turning away from his gaze, _it's better before you know. At least then you can still imagine something that isn't entirely awful._

Peter didn't respond right away, and Olivia began to regret her comment. She knew Peter had read her report of what had happened to her while she was trapped in the other universe, but she had spoken to him about it as little as possible, and he hadn't pried. But now she'd all but invited him to make comparisons between their current circumstances and what she had gone through.

 _God, Olivia,_ he said, in a tone of chagrin, _I didn't even think-- I didn't realize how much this is like what happened while you were Over There. I'm sorry._

She found herself still unable to face him. _It's, it's okay,_ she told him. _We've already established that they want us alive, at least. So that's an improvement, despite the whole tiger thing._

He didn't sound satisfied. _Olivia..._

 _And at least--_ She stopped herself. It was selfish of her, but she was glad that Peter was here with her this time, even though it meant he was in danger along with her.

 _At least what?_

Olivia turned toward him, but before she could say anything further, the truck started up, and they were once more jolted painfully as the vehicle began to move along the same poor quality roads.

 _What were you going to say, Olivia?_ Peter asked again. He was crouching in a corner of the cage in an attempt to guard himself from injury.

She waited until the road had smoothed out a little, which thankfully did not take as long this time. _I was just going to say, you're here this time,_ she said quietly. _Maybe it's selfish, but I'm glad you are._

When he replied, Peter's voice was warm. _I'm glad neither one of us is alone, too_.

~

Olivia was surprised to realize she had been dozing once they made it back to the freeway. She and Peter had dropped their conversation during the rest of the rough going, and the combination of quiet, a full stomach, and the darkness of the interior of the truck led her to drift off. But she only allowed herself a few short snatches of sleep before she sat up and turned her focus back to seeing if she could access her abilities. Whatever their captors had in mind for them, it was something she'd rather not find out.

Several fruitless minutes passed, as Olivia tried again and again to affect the lock on her cage. Nothing was happening. It was only too easy to get discouraged. If she even had these particular abilities when she was human, they were eluding her entirely now that she was in this body.

A motorcycle passed the truck just then, and the sound woke Peter from his own slumber. He stretched as much as possible in the enclosed space and asked her sleepily if she was okay.

 _I'm fine_ , she answered, pawing at the door in frustration. _I've been trying to unlock the door, but it's not working. I'm still not sure it's even possible._

Peter got to his feet. _Well, we don't have much to lose if you keep trying, right?_

 _Right._ Olivia took a deep breath and concentrated again. She nearly let out a cry when there was an audible click, and the cage door swung open a few feet before being stopped by the door of the truck.

 _You did it!_ Peter's admiration and glee were obvious.

Olivia could hardly believe it. She took a few steps out of the cage, twisting around to look at the open door as if to reassure herself of what had just happened. _I guess I did, didn't I?_

 _Yeah_ , Peter said. With mock-impatience, he added, _Are you going to spring me, too, or what?_

In lieu of answering, Olivia focused her mind on the lock for his cage, and within seconds it, too, had sprung open. The two lost no time meeting in the space between their cages. Olivia closed her eyes as she touched her face to his. She wished she could hold him in her arms right now, but she would take what she could get.

They stayed close to each other for some time. Despite the strangeness of their situation, Olivia took some comfort from the fact that, somehow, Peter's scent was still the same.

The truck braked abruptly, throwing them both forward – Peter ended up plowing into Olivia since she was closer to the cages – and effectively ending the moment. _Nice_ , Olivia said, shaking it off as the truck started forward again.

 _Sorry_ , Peter said. He stepped away to give her more room. _You okay?_

 _Not your fault. I'm all right_ , Olivia replied. She looked him over. _You?_

 _I'll be fine_. He took the opportunity to stretch out as much as possible, and Olivia followed suit. It felt wonderful to be in a less enclosed space at last.

 _So what's our next move?_ Peter asked after a moment. _Do we try to get out of the truck while we're still at freeway speed? I'd really like to break out, but..._

 _Yeah, I don't know how much punishment these bodies can take_ , Olivia said. That was also assuming she'd be able to get the door open, of course. _On the other hand, we still don't know exactly what's in store for us when we arrive at the 'facility' where we're headed, so waiting carries its own risks._

Peter agreed. _And if we just wait to jump out at them when they open the door, who knows how far we'd get before they track us down and shoot us with the tranquilizer gun again? They've obviously put a lot of resources into us, so they won't just let us get away._

 _That's a good point_. Olivia sighed. She wasn't satisfied with either option, that was for sure. _Well, each idea has its risks – but I really don't like our chances if one or both of us breaks a leg trying to jump out of the truck right now._

 _That would definitely put a crimp on escaping_ , Peter said. He glanced around the truck, and then his gaze settled on Olivia again. _I'll cast my vote for trying to avoid ending up as really unusual roadkill_.

She gave a rueful laugh. _When you put it like that..._

 _I've always had a way with words_ , he said modestly. _Anyway, if we're not making our move yet, we should try to figure out when the best time would be._

 _It's hard to know, since we still don't know what they're doing with us once we get there_ , Olivia reminded him.

After some discussion, it was agreed that they would take the risk of attempting escape as soon as the truck arrived at its destination or slightly before, assuming Olivia was given the opportunity to focus as much as she needed to open the door herself. If that didn't happen (as Olivia was all too worried that it wouldn't), they would wait until the door was opened by their captors, and take the gamble that the humans wouldn't have tranquilizer guns on hand.

 _Meanwhile_ , Olivia said, turning toward the other end of the truck, _I think we should check out the rest of the cargo back here. Maybe it'll give us some more clues about these people, what they're trying to accomplish._

Peter joined her, and the two of them set about searching through the boxes and crates. There weren't many of them, as she'd noted before, and they were all held in place by cargo netting. It didn't take more than a few seconds for them to locate the source of the chemical scent that they'd noticed shortly after waking up: it was a small black case, securely fastened shut, with a tiny label on one side that was difficult for them to read even with their superior vision. It looked like all that was on the label was two separate strings of numbers and letters. They were each fifteen characters long.

 _What are those, ID codes?_ Peter mused.

 _Could be_ , Olivia said.

Getting closer to the source of the scent didn't make it any clearer to Olivia what the chemical might be. When she asked Peter if he had any further ideas, he shook his head. _I guess it must not be something that Walter works with on a regular basis. Although it smells weirdly familiar to me, all the same. Is it that way to you?_

Olivia brought her nose close to the black case again and inhaled. He was right; the odor triggered some faint association that she couldn't pin down. _Yeah, I know what you mean_ , she told him. _I couldn't tell you what it reminds me of, though._

 _Me neither_. Peter sounded miffed at this lack of concrete, useful information.

Giving the mental equivalent of a shrug, Olivia moved on to the few other items that were in the cargo netting. From their appearance and odor, the two crates seemed to contain lab equipment – or so she and Peter guessed. There were two cardboard boxes, as well, which seemed to be full of papers and books.

 _All right._ Olivia sat down in the space between the two empty cages, trying to organize what they'd learned so far. _So, they're taking us to a facility, they probably want to keep us alive, they changed us into a certain type of tiger..._

 _Sumatran_ , Peter put in as he walked a few steps to sit next to her, _based on the scientific name that woman Dr. West said after she gave us that really creepy once-over._

Olivia was about to reply when she remembered another detail from that nature program about tigers – and she thought it might have been written on the plaque at the tiger exhibit at the zoo, as well. _Aren't Sumatran tigers even more endangered than some of the other types?_

She could sense his mild amazement. _Your memory really is something else, you know. Yeah, I think we saw something about that at the tiger exhibit._ He looked down at himself for a second before asking, _Other than telling us where we might be headed if we don't get out as soon as possible – and while Indonesia is a nice enough place, it isn't really on my top ten list of places to go back to any time soon – what do you think that means for us?_

Olivia barely registered his comment about Indonesia. She stood up and started to pace once more as a theory started to take shape. The box had two distinct codes on it. She and Peter had been kidnapped together. The truck had obviously been prepared for transporting two tigers. Sumatran tigers were among the most critically endangered animals on the planet. She remembered the greed in Dr. West's eyes again, and she swallowed.

 _What are you thinking?_ he asked, seeing her agitation.

 _Peter, I think those ID codes are ours_ , she began. _I think they took the two of us together on purpose. I think Dr. West, and whoever else is involved, are hoping that they can get more than two Sumatran tigers for their money._

It didn't take long for Peter to see where she was going. His eyes widened, and he took an involuntary step back. _Olivia, you know I wouldn't--_

 _I know_ , she said, taking care to meet his eyes so he could be assured that she had no doubt on that score. _But they don't._

Peter was clearly at a loss for words. It was several seconds before he managed to get out, _I would like to state for the record that these people are seriously messed-up. I'm all for saving endangered species, but..._

 _You weren't planning to have such a personal role in the process?_ Olivia finished. Her tone was dry, but she didn't hide her own anger and disgust.

 _Exactly_. It was his turn to pace. _When we get out of here and get changed back to ourselves, however that happens, he declared, we are shutting this thing down._

Olivia bared her teeth for a moment. _Yes, we are_.

The rest of the trip passed in tense silence. The truck's speed remained fairly constant, which meant that Olivia didn't feel comfortable attempting to open the back door at any point before they finally exited the freeway about an hour later. She exchanged a glance with Peter as the truck began to slow, her heart rate starting to skyrocket.

 _Let's wait until we're a little farther off the beaten path_ , Peter suggested.

She nodded and tried to take deep breaths. She needed to be able to concentrate.

Minutes passed. The sounds of other vehicles on the road faded, and then there was the sound of crunching gravel under the truck's wheels. Olivia spared a moment to be grateful that Dr. West had chosen to lead the way to their destination, and therefore presumably would not be witness to the truck opening in front of her. Then she inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and focused again on the impossible.

After several seconds, the lock clicked open. Olivia was aware of this, but she did her best not to let it break her concentration. Several more seconds' effort began to lift the door, at which point the light coming in was another potential distraction to ignore.

Once the gap reached about four feet in height, Olivia opened her eyes to find Peter's gaze as she held the door steady. _You need to go first_ , she told him, _so I can concentrate on keeping it open for you_.

Peter did not look happy. _And you'll be able to keep it open for yourself, right? Because I'm not leaving you stuck in here._

She stepped back to allow him more room near the door. _I really can't be sure about anything that relates to this, Peter – except that the longer we debate about it, the more likely it's going to stop working. So go. I'll follow._

With a glance over his shoulder, Peter ducked under the door, paused for a moment, and then leaped out onto the ground. Olivia didn't allow herself to watch him, instead dividing her attention between holding up the door and moving through it herself. The instant her paws hit the ground, the door fell back down with a crash that was surely noticeable to the drivers. Olivia took a second to regain her footing before running to join Peter in the bushes at the edge of the gravel road.

 _We need to keep moving_ , Olivia said once she reached him. _They can't have missed the sound of the door shutting._

Quickly, the two of them set out in the general direction they had come, sticking as close to the freeway as they could while staying under the cover of wooded areas. Thankfully, the forest seemed to extend for a good distance in most directions. However, it took only a few minutes for them to discover that tigers apparently weren't built for sustained periods of sprinting, so they slowed their pace despite the worry of being followed. The terrain was hilly enough that it was a good idea to be careful of their footing, anyway, Olivia reflected.

As she pressed forward through the woods, Olivia found the variety of scents and sounds she could distinguish in this body to be almost bewildering. She could tell what path a doe and her faun had taken not long ago (part of her wanted to hunt along that trail right away), and where a faint remnant of blood marked the spot a rabbit had met its death at the jaws of a coyote. On top of this, every time an animal or insect moved in her field of vision, it had the potential to capture her attention in a way it never would for her as a human.

 _I think I could almost enjoy this if we weren't probably being hunted right now_ , she remarked to Peter as they both stepped carefully through a clear-running stream.

 _Yeah, I could, too_ , Peter agreed. _It's kind of easy to tell that nothing else other than humans would really want to mess with us, for one thing._

Olivia snorted. _Good thing, too – we hardly need anything else to be chasing us at the moment._

After they had been traveling through the forest adjacent to the freeway for some time, Peter stopped and turned to Olivia. _I know we're still going in the right direction, retracing our steps_ , he said, _but if we can manage it without being seen by anyone, I think we should try to figure out exactly which road we're following._

Feeling more than a little embarrassed that she hadn't thought of this idea herself, Olivia agreed, and the two of them crept closer down to the edge of the forest. The smell of the road surface, even from a distance of a few yards, was thick and cloying with gasoline and exhaust. Olivia fought back a sneeze as she peered out from tree cover. Sometimes, she thought, having a stronger sense of smell was not a blessing.

There were no road signs visible from their first location, so they went on a little further. It was Peter who spotted a sign marking northbound Highway 7 on the opposite side of the highway – meaning that they were currently following Highway 7 south.

 _Highway 7_ , Peter mused. _So ... Vermont, maybe?_

 _In which case we definitely want to keep heading south_ , Olivia said. _Although if I'm remembering my state geography correctly, we're going to run out of forest not too long after we reach the Massachusetts state line._

 _I think you're right_ , Peter said. _I think this is a national park or something, for one thing_.

Olivia stared at the road sign for another few seconds, and then turned away. _Well, I guess we'll just worry about that when we get there._ The idea of them trying to make it back to the Boston area on foot, in these strikingly out of place bodies, with little or no forest cover was not one that filled her with a lot of confidence, but there was nothing to be done about it for now.

After some debate, the two decided to move their trajectory a bit further away from the highway, as the landscape permitted. This meant they could head more directly south and thus shave more time off their journey, perhaps. And tigers, it turned out, had pretty decent instinctual senses of direction.

They kept going for what had to be several more miles before they noted the first sign of what could have been pursuit: a helicopter coming from the same direction where they had escaped, flying low over the canopy. Upon hearing the chopper approach, Olivia and Peter immediately crouched in the thickest bushes they could find. They stayed undercover until its noise had long since faded.

 _Did they really think they'd be able to use a helicopter to find a couple of tigers in the middle of a forest, on a mountain?_ Peter asked, sounding almost amused as they resumed their journey. _I would've thought ecoterrorist types would remember about tiger stripes and camouflage._

 _I hope you're not complaining_ , Olivia said. She shot him a look before she ducked under a low-hanging tree branch. _Because I was kind of thinking the first we'd hear of our pursuers would be when they set the dogs after us_.

Peter was silent for a moment. _Point taken. And thanks, now I have something else to worry about_.

 _Sure_ , Olivia returned grimly.

~

There were no other indications of their being followed for the next several hours. Night began to fall. The last of her adrenaline had worn off some time ago, and Olivia almost felt attacked by the sudden onslaught of exhaustion and hunger. She couldn't keep herself from stumbling a little as they began to descend a hill, which meant that she narrowly avoided crashing into Peter.

 _You okay?_ Peter asked, his concern obvious.

Olivia took the opportunity to sit down. _Not really_ , she confessed. _Peter, I don't think I can keep going for much longer. I know we need to put as much distance between us and that truck as possible, but I'm just about dead on my feet – as you may have noticed_. In a wry tone, she added, _I'm also really hungry, but fixing that would probably require me to hunt, and I don't know if I have the energy for that at the moment._

Peter, she noted, also looked a bit weary, based on the changes she could see in his posture. He took a breath. _I guess we could try to find a relatively safe place to sleep. We can put off finding something to eat until after we've recharged a little._

 _Okay_. Olivia got to her feet stiffly. She looked around at the little clearing they had just entered – and then she froze. _Did you see that?_

 _What?_ Peter looked in the direction she was staring.

 _I thought I saw--_ Olivia stopped again as she saw another flash of movement through the trees on the other side of the clearing. She ducked behind a fallen log, keeping her gaze on where she had seen it. _There it was again!_

Peter was on alert now. _I saw it_. He joined her behind the log.

Before either of them could decide whether to run or investigate, there was the sound of a twig snapping coming from the same area. The wind shifted, and Olivia felt her focus sharpen more than she would have thought possible in her exhausted state as the breeze carried the unmistakeable scent of “prey animal” to her nose. A second later, a white-tailed deer stepped into the clearing, its head raised as it scanned the area for danger.

 _I don't think we should pass this up_ , Peter said, sounding distracted.

 _Me neither_ , she replied. She thought vaguely that it was a good thing neither of them were vegetarians. Then she took a mental step back and allowed her tiger instincts to take the lead.

Just as she and Peter were about to spring on the unsuspecting deer, another animal sprang out of hiding from some underbrush closer to the bottom of the hill on the tigers' side of the clearing. The terrified deer had only a split second to react before the cougar – yes, that was what it was – had grabbed it by the neck.

Olivia watched and waited. The tiger knew she only had to be patient for a short while longer, and then she and her mate together could drive off the other, smaller predator when it had finished killing the deer. There was no need to expend the energy of killing it themselves.

Once the deer stopped struggling, the cougar started to drag its kill out of the exposed clearing area. Almost in unison, Olivia and Peter deliberately came into view, making no attempt to hide. The cougar looked up – and quickly dropped the deer so that it could back up, snarling. A small part of Olivia's mind felt sorry for the creature, suddenly faced with two larger predators with whom it couldn't possibly compete. Most of her, though, was filled with a sense of satisfaction at how easily the cougar gave up its kill, and anticipation for the meal ahead of her.

The cougar stood its ground for another few seconds. Then, Peter and Olivia were within two yards of the dead deer, and Peter let out a threatening growl. Baring its teeth again, the cougar turned tail and fled.

Olivia didn't bother to wait any longer before beginning to eat. She really had to keep her mind on the fact that she needed this energy, though, since her human self found it disturbing to be eating something that had so recently been alive. She was faintly surprised (seizing on this to distract herself from the blood and mess) that Peter waited longer than she would have expected to join in.

Between the two of them, the carcass was mostly cleaned of meat fairly quickly. Olivia felt eyes on her as she ate – scavengers, no doubt, since nothing tried to interrupt them. She guessed that the rest of the edible material on the bones would be claimed as soon as the two of them left.

Once she had eaten as much as she wanted, Olivia sat back and started to groom herself. Peter took a few more minutes, and then he did likewise. It wasn't until she was finished getting cleaned up that Olivia realized with a start that she was still allowing her tiger instincts to control her mind. Quickly, she brought herself back into control. Thankfully, there was very little struggle involved, unlike some of her previous ordeals. Peter, on the other hand, didn't have this kind of experience to fall back on...

She turned toward him. _So that was ... interesting, to say the least_ , she said casually.

Peter stopped in the middle of cleaning a paw to stare at her. He was silent, although his ears went back.

This was not reassuring. _Peter? You're still there, right?_

Several more seconds passed, during which Olivia's worry grew. Peter seemed almost frozen, although his tail was twitching and he was still looking toward her. She was getting ready to speak to him again when Peter finally replied. _Uh, sorry about that_ , he said, sounding shaken. _I-- I think I got lost there again_.

 _It's all right_ , Olivia said. _I was, too_.

 _But not so far that you weren't able to bring yourself back_ , he pointed out. His tone was a mixture of admiration and self-disgust. _And then me, again_.

 _Well, I do have experience dealing with more than once consciousness at a time_ , Olivia returned, more matter-of-factly than she thought would be possible. _I guess I just found the one situation in which that's an advantage._

Peter gave a surprised laugh. _I guess you did_. Then he stood up and stretched. _Well, as much as I would love to stay here next to this deer corpse that's already attracting a lot of animal and insect attention, I think we should go find someplace to sleep where we're less out in the open._

 _Sounds good to me_ , she said. After the day's exertions and the heavy meal, she was almost falling asleep where they stood. She hoped it didn't take long to find a decent sleeping spot.

The two discovered what appeared to be a long-abandoned animal den of some kind not too far from the clearing, halfway up a hillside. Olivia wondered vaguely why the cougar they had encountered earlier wasn't living here, but she was too tired to dwell on it for long. As soon as she was curled up against Peter in the dark, she slept.

~

Olivia woke from a disturbing and confusing dream to find that Peter was no longer by her side. She blinked and turned toward the opening of the den, relieved when she spotted his silhouette against the morning light. _How long have you been awake?_ she asked with a yawn.

 _Hey, good morning_ , he greeted her, coming back inside. _Not too long – just a couple of minutes. I thought I heard something out here, but everything seems to be okay. No hunting hounds so far._

 _That's good to hear_ , she said. Despite the lingering traces of her dream, she found herself feeling more optimistic about the day. She was sure they would be able to find a way back to Boston without being tracked down by their abductors … and somehow, they would get Walter to believe it was them in these bodies, and then he would be able to change them back.

 _You ready to go?_ Peter asked.

 _Yep_. Olivia stood up, gave in to the desire to stretch, and then walked out of the den. It was fairly early, based on the light, but the day looked like it might be clear. She took a deep breath and headed down the hill.

Olivia's optimism had faded considerably by around noon. Not only had it clouded over and started to rain in a steady drizzle about an hour ago, but she was also starting to feel distinctly ill. It wasn't as easy for her to tell in this body as it would have been in her human one, but she guessed she was running a fever. She was finding it harder to stay focused on the path in front of her. She snuck a look at Peter, and thought she might have seen some signs that he was going through the same things – but he hadn't brought it up.

After some length of time during which her discomfort increased, Peter suddenly stumbled and nearly slid down the hill they were descending. _Whoa_ , he muttered.

 _Are you all right?_ Olivia asked, hurrying closer to him.

He glanced at her and then looked away. _I've been feeling like crap for a while now, and I don't think it's getting any better. I don't know what's wrong._

 _Hmm. Well, whatever you have, I think I have it, too_ , she admitted. _If I were human at the moment, I think I'd say I was coming down with the flu or something, but I don't even know if tigers can get the flu._

Peter chuckled. _Oddly enough, neither do I. But that is kind of what it feels like, doesn't it?_

 _Yeah. Too bad we can't exactly take a sick day at the moment._

Making no effort to hide his weariness, Peter added, _And I don't really think it would be a good idea to detour to the nearest veterinarian's office, either._

 _Probably not_ , Olivia agreed. The two started forward again, though a little slower as they each took more care with their steps.

The illness, whatever it was, continued to worsen as the day went on. Olivia began to shiver as her fever climbed, and her muscles started to ache as well. Peter was also shivering, and his eyes were glassy.

When their slow progress brought them to a lakeside, Olivia could hardly wait to get to the water's edge. She was terribly thirsty. Judging by the way Peter was hurrying alongside her, he was, too. They were both so intent on quenching their thirst that they didn't see the couple in the canoe until their attention was grabbed by the canoeists' shouts of surprise and alarm.

“What the hell? Are those-- Jerry, those look like tigers!”

The cry carried over the water from where Jerry and the woman were in their canoe. Olivia and Peter looked up, then looked at each other in dismay. _We have to get out of here now_ , Olivia said.

They turned and fled as fast as they could, leaving behind the astonished humans. _Let's hope cell reception is as bad as it should be out here_ , Peter said. _Otherwise we'll be going up on Facebook or their blog within minutes_.

Busy trying to ignore the increasing pain in her muscles, Olivia didn't respond. Neither of them spoke again until they had left the lake far behind them, and they were both panting from their sprint.

 _Of course_ , Olivia muttered, wincing as a bolt of pain shot through her front legs, _now I'm thirsty again. So that water was totally worth exposing us._

 _We do need to stay hydrated_ , Peter said. He was still breathing heavily. _But from less touristy water sources, if possible._

 _Yeah_. As soon as she had caught her breath, Olivia started forward again. She was only able to stay upright with effort. Her tiger instincts wanted only to find a safe place to hole up while she rode out this sickness – and she thought this sounded pretty attractive, herself.

Their pace slowed even more as the day progressed. Any thoughts of making it out of the forest this day were gone at this point, and Olivia thought groggily that it was all in all a good thing they were still in the woods, since they certainly weren't up to any attempts to avoid further sightings by any other means. It was all they could do to keep moving forward.

Eventually, just as Olivia was about to tell Peter she was done for the day, he turned to her and suggested they find a place to stop for the night. _Maybe a night's sleep will help us feel better_ , he said, _but at any rate, I don't think I can keep going much longer._

 _Yeah, me neither_ , Olivia told him. The pain in her muscles was starting to be a constant feature, instead of coming and going. The only sort of positive development in her symptoms throughout the day was that she was no longer shivering as much.

Together, they decided on a hollowed-out area under a fallen log as their den. Olivia was very thankful that it was easy to find. It was a little bit of a tight fit for them both, but at least it was out of the open. It took longer for Olivia to fall asleep this time, despite her exhaustion, but eventually the need for sleep outweighed the discomfort of her illness, and she dropped off with Peter breathing rhythmically right beside her.

In the middle of the night, Olivia woke suddenly to a moan, both telepathic and audible, from Peter. He was thrashing next to her, almost colliding with her in the confined space. She was about to ask him what was wrong when she was hit with a sharp pain that seemed to start from her chest and radiate out. As the agony continued to increase, it completely eclipsed anything else on her mind, even her concern for Peter. It was like nothing she had ever felt before, and it seemed endless.

When the waves of pain finally started to fade, Olivia felt like she had been wrung out and left limp. Her eyes were still shut, and she didn't want to move – she didn't feel like she could move. But then she began to notice that she felt … different. Less warm, for one thing, and the dirt floor of their hideaway seemed much more uncomfortable than it had been, which she thought was a weird thing to notice while her whole body was still aching.

Slowly, Olivia relaxed her clenched muscles. Yes, she was definitely colder than she had been. Maybe the fever had passed? But that didn't explain why her skin felt so sensitive. Though she was more than a bit scared of what she might see, she finally opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was her hand, pushed against the side of the little hollow. Her hand – her human hand, and her wrist and arm.

Heart pounding, Olivia looked down at herself. Her human body was back. Of course her skin felt sensitive, since she was currently curled up on the ground with no clothes between her and the grit of the forest floor. Then she thought of Peter, and as quickly as she could without hitting her head on the fallen tree above her, she turned around.

He was there, too, in his human form. He was curled up facing away from her, and he wasn't moving. When she bent closer, she saw to her intense relief that he was breathing, but he seemed to be unconscious. He didn't reply when she called his name. At least his pulse was strong under her fingertips.

Olivia sat back, her mind working rapidly. If she had to guess, she would say that their illness had evidently been the prelude to their bodies rejecting the modifications made to their DNA, an immune response that made a certain amount of sense. The fact that they were human again was a very good development as far as she was concerned – although they obviously needed clothing, and she had no idea where they were going to find any out in the middle of a national forest. And Peter might need medical attention; she probably did as well.

She left the hollowed-out spot, shivering again in the cool of the early morning. As she looked at the surrounding woodland that she'd barely noticed last night, she hoped fervently that the cougar they had scared off two days ago had been sufficiently terrified that it wasn't lurking anywhere nearby.

When she took a few more steps up the hill behind the fallen log, Olivia almost laughed at what was revealed: there, spread out in the clearing beyond her, was a campsite, with six or seven tents set up in the spaces between trees. She ducked down quickly behind a bush, but it didn't look like anyone in the site was awake yet. No one was stirring, at least.

Olivia continued to scan what she could see of the campsite from her vantage point. There was a clothesline at one edge of the site; it was under a tarp, hung between a tent and a gazebo, with at least two outfits' worth of clothes on it. She made her way as carefully and quietly as she could to that end of the campsite, wincing several times as she stepped on a sharp rock or stick. Then, with a silent apology to the inhabitants of the tent where the clothesline was attached, she removed two shirts, a pair of women's jeans she hoped would fit, and the pair of men's khakis. These would have to do for now. As she was about to leave, Olivia noted the name in permanent marker at the base of the tent: Sievers. She told herself she would try to track down the Sievers who had been camping in Green Mountain National Forest and pay them back for the clothes she was stealing.

There were no outcries of alarm as she left the campsite. As soon as she was out of sight, Olivia pulled on the jeans (they were a little too loose, but at least they were only an inch too short in the leg) and buttoned up the blouse. She was approaching the fallen log when she saw Peter standing awkwardly behind it, looking confused and worried. His worry cleared immediately upon seeing her.

“Olivia. There you are. Um, did you happen to get--”

Smiling, Olivia handed him the clothes, making a show of keeping her eyes on his face. “I don't know if they'll fit, but here you go.”

“Thank you,” he said, with an answering smile. “I appreciate your forethought.”

She waited while he got dressed. “Are you feeling better? You were out cold when I woke up a little while ago.”

“Yeah, I'm okay,” he replied. “Sore all over, but I'm me again, so I won't complain too much. How about you?”

“Sore, too, but it's getting better, I think.” She looked over her shoulder. “I took the clothes from a campsite that – believe it or not – is just over that hill there. We should keep moving, in case the owners wake up and notice they're gone.”

Raising his eyebrows, Peter glanced in that direction. “We were that close to a campsite last night? Wow.”

“Yeah, I know,” Olivia said. She shook her head. “It's a good thing no one decided to go exploring. So, should we go?”

“Well,” said Peter, “we don't have to stay hidden in the forest now, right?”

Olivia thought for a moment. “That depends on how willing we think our kidnappers are to try to take us and change us again – or, if they knew the change wouldn't hold, whether they would want to track us down to keep us from bringing them to justice.”

“Now, there's a delightful thought,” Peter said. His fists were clenched. “With that in mind, maybe we should try to aim for getting back to civilization as fast as we can.”

“I'll bet there's a way to get back to the city from that campsite, but I'd rather not confront the people whose clothes we're wearing, if possible,” Olivia said. She smirked and looked away, before looking back to meet his eyes. “For some reason, I can't think of an innocent-sounding explanation for why we ended up here without any clothes of our own. And I don't have a badge or gun to discourage questions at the moment, either.”

Peter grinned. “Well, how big is the campground? Maybe we can stay out of their way and still follow a trail back to the nearest town.”

“We can give it a try,” Olivia said, “but if we get caught, we should have our stories straight.” She took a step closer and leaned into him, and in response he pulled her into his arms.

Peter murmured, “I've missed this,” after a moment. He stroked through her hair with one hand while the other kept her close to him.

Olivia took a deep breath, her face buried in the crook of his neck. “Me, too.”

They were quiet for another few minutes before Peter pulled back – reluctantly, Olivia thought – and said, “You're right, though. We should have an explanation ready just in case.”

“Any ideas?” Olivia caught the mischievous glint in his eye and added quickly, “Ideas that won't involve damage to my spotless reputation, I mean.”

“Why, Agent Dunham, I wouldn't dream of damaging your reputation,” Peter said, all wounded innocence. Then he smiled again. “But seriously, I think I do have a pretty good idea that should work – especially if we find the right person to talk to.”

“Talk to?” Olivia looked up at him, eyebrow raised. “I thought we were trying to avoid that for now.”

Peter was already starting to walk toward the campground. “Trust me. This is going to work.”

Olivia held her tongue and followed him. “Let's start with the other edge of the campsite, then, please,” she suggested, taking his hand to guide him to the opposite side from the tent from which she had taken the clothing.

He nodded and continued walking until the campsite was in view over the hill. Then he ducked down and edged around to the edge farthest away from where Olivia indicated. “The first rule of any good con is to choose your mark carefully,” he explained in a low voice, his gaze fixed on the tents spread out below them.

“Uh huh,” Olivia agreed, both amused and half-disturbed that she was going along with this. She reminded herself that anyone who needed to be paid back could be, as soon as she and Peter were able to do so. “In this case,” she remarked, “our ideal victim better also be an early riser. I don't want to sit out here and wait too much longer.”

“True,” Peter said. “That could work in our favor, actually, if my guess is correct.” After a moment of waiting, there was some movement in the camp, and Peter sat back, satisfaction in his voice. “And it looks like it is.”

Olivia followed his gaze to see an older man exiting his tent, making for the water pump a few feet away. The two watched him for another minute before Peter turned to her and said, “Okay, that's a two-person tent, so I'm guessing he's out here with his wife. I'd rather talk to him before she wakes up, but it's no big deal if she does, either. Come on.”

He started to stand up, but Olivia stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Peter, don't you think I should have some idea what you're planning? I may not be a master con artist like yourself, but I can still play along if I know what we're doing.”

“I was going to fill you in,” Peter protested quietly. “But fine.” He whispered his idea to her, and smiled as she nodded her support. Then they both stood up and started back the way they came. They would need to approach their target from a different angle for this to work.

Not too much later, the couple walked out of the forest hand-in-hand and giggling, heading in the vague direction of the man they had seen earlier. The guy looked up from the fire pit over which he was cooking something – Olivia couldn't tell what – at the sound of their approach, and Olivia nudged Peter's side gently even as she continued the act.

“Oh,” Peter said, as if just noticing the man in front of them. “Good morning, sir. Sorry to disturb you, but could you give us a little help?”

The man took in their appearance – the lack of footwear, and the frankly ridiculous-looking floral printed shirt that Olivia had scavenged for Peter, as well as their obvious mingled embarrassment and merriment. “Maybe,” he replied, doubtfully. “What seems to be the trouble?”

Olivia kept her admiration hidden as Peter laid on his famous Bishop charm. “Well, you see, my girlfriend and I have been out here camping with some friends these last few days, and I guess they decided it would be funny to play a little prank on us this morning.”

“Yeah, just a little one,” Olivia put in, rolling her eyes. “They're so going to pay for this. I bet it was all Marcia's idea.”

“What kind of prank?” the man asked, his stance relaxing and his mouth beginning to turn up into a smile as he started to see where they were headed.

Peter laughed and shrugged. “Rachel and I woke up this morning to find that our wonderful friends had packed up everything at the campsite and taken it with them – leaving nothing but these lovely outfits you see us wearing. And they left.” He shook his head. “I don't know how they managed to pull it off,” he said ruefully, turning to Olivia. “We must have had more to drink last night than we thought.”

Obligingly, she added an annoyed but impressed sigh of her own. “I'm surprised those jerks didn't find some way of stealing the tent right out from under us, too. Or over us.”

“Well, that's quite the predicament,” the man said, with a laugh. “I think I can help you two unfortunate souls out. I can get you back to the nearest town at least. Just sit down for a minute, if you'd like, and I'll go tell my wife I'm heading out for a while.”

Olivia gave him a genuinely relieved smile. “Thank you so much, Mr. --”

“Hayes. Ryan Hayes.” He shook her hand, and then Peter's. “Nice to meet you both. I'll be right out. June probably won't want to get out of her sleeping bag so early, but she'll want to know where I'm headed.”

As soon as Mr. Hayes had turned away toward his tent, Peter gave Olivia a smug look at their success so far. She just rolled her eyes again. She was enjoying herself more than she thought healthy for this situation.

Their new friend exited the tent after a few minutes of quiet conversation with his wife. “All right,” he said. “Oh, June wanted me to give you these … Rachel, was it?” He was holding out a pair of flip-flops that looked like they might fit reasonably well.

Olivia nodded. “Thank you,” she said, taking them and putting them on.

“You're welcome. It's not a good idea to go walking around in the woods in bare feet.” Hayes turned to Peter. “I've got an extra pair of sandals that you can borrow, too. Did you mention your name?”

“No, I don't think I did,” Peter replied easily. “I'm Gene. And thanks, I really appreciate the loan.”

“Not a problem. I'll just get those for you, and we can be on our way.”

~

It was a half-hour drive out of the national forest to the nearest town, during which time Olivia and Peter were alternately entertained by their host's stories of past camping trips with his wife, and by a few choice stories from Peter about camping trips with his father – suitably edited, Olivia assumed, for a wider audience. She held off requests for a story from her by telling them that her family hadn't been much for camping trips, which was true.

The town of Pownal, Vermont was picturesque, and with the sun just now rising fully, it was certainly beautiful. Part of that was the simple fact that it was nice to no longer be surrounded by trees as far as she could see, Olivia thought. She had nothing against forests, but she was more than a bit tired of them currently.

Ryan Hayes dropped them off outside a pay phone in the town, graciously providing them with the quarters necessary to make the call “to their friends to come pick them up”. It was only with reluctance that he took back the footwear that he'd loaned them, after they both insisted that they would be all right until their friends arrived.

“Thanks again, Mr. Hayes,” Olivia said, shaking the man's hand as he prepared to return to his wife. “We both appreciate your help so much.”

“And your understanding, as well,” Peter added.

Hayes shook his head. “It was nothing. Glad to be of service to you two.” He grinned. “And next time you go on a camping trip with those friends of yours, you might turn the tables on them. Just a suggestion, of course.”

They waved as he got into his SUV and left. Then Peter turned to Olivia. “Well, I guess it's back to business. Who's our first call? Broyles?”

Olivia blinked. Despite how much she wanted to get back home, not to mention get started tracking down the people who had taken them, it felt strange to be shifting back into work mode after this time away from it. “Yeah, it should be Broyles,” she answered. She took a deep breath, put the coins into the machine, and dialed the number.

“Broyles,” he said.

“Sir, it's Agent Dunham. Peter is with me,” she said.

“Agent Dunham? Where are you?” Broyles sounded shocked. “Are you two all right?”

She hastened to reassure him. “Yes, we're both fine. We're in Pownal, Vermont.”

“We've been investigating your disappearance as a suspected kidnapping. Are you in danger?”

Olivia had in fact been wondering this since they'd arrived in Pownal. “I don't think so, but we can't be sure our abductors aren't trying to track us down. We are in a public place at the moment, though.”

“And I'm guessing you don't have your service weapon,” Broyles said, which she confirmed. He was silent for a moment. “All right, tell me the cross streets where you are and give me five minutes to contact the nearest local PD. I'll explain some of the situation to them, and they can provide you with a safe place to stay while we come get you.”

“Okay,” she said. “Do you know how long you'll be?”

Broyles paused again, perhaps looking up the answer to her question. “Shouldn't be more than an hour, including travel time to your location from the Bennington airport. Meanwhile, you and Peter stay put and stay alert, and I'll make sure the local PD take care of you.”

“We will. Thank you, sir.” Olivia hung up as her boss did likewise.

“So what's the word?” Peter asked. She marveled at how he managed to look completely at ease even while standing on the side of the road in an unfamiliar city, barefoot and wearing that tacky, too-big shirt.

“Broyles is going to call the nearest police department and get them to take us somewhere safe,” she reported, “just in case our kidnappers are still looking for us. He'll be on the next flight, which means he should be here in about an hour.”

Peter nodded. “Sounds reasonable. Did he happen to mention if they've found out anything on their end about who took us?”

“No, we didn't really get into that.” Olivia took a step away from the phone booth, closer to him. “All he said was that they were assuming we were kidnapped and acting accordingly.”

“Well, that's something,” he replied. “So I guess we wait for the cops to pick us up, then?”

“Yeah.” She glanced around at the town of Pownal around them. There wasn't a lot of activity on the streets, but there were enough pedestrians and cars that she at least felt like no one could try to take Peter and her again without being noticed.

Peter gestured to a bench a few yards away. “I'm not exactly feeling well-rested after last night, so I'd rather sit than stand, if you don't mind.”

“Good point,” Olivia said.

They had only been sitting for a few minutes when a patrol car rolled up, stopping a little past the bench. A young female officer got out of the driver's side. “Are you Agent Dunham and Peter Bishop?”

“That's us,” Peter said, standing up.

The officer smiled. “Good. I'm Theresa Weiss. I've been instructed to take you two to the station in Bennington to wait for Agent Broyles' arrival. It'll be about a ten minute drive to the station, and we can get you some breakfast while you're there if you need it.”

“Thanks, that would be great,” Olivia said. “We haven't eaten in … a while.” Thinking about it for even a second made her realize how hungry she was.

“Much too long,” Peter added.

“Well, we'll fix that as soon as we can,” Officer Weiss said. She opened the back door. “I'm sorry you have to ride in the back, but we'll keep the siren and lights off for you, at least.”

Olivia and Peter smiled, and as they slid into the back Peter told her, “Thank you. We appreciate it.”

As they got started, Officer Weiss introduced them to her partner, Jerry Ingram. Both he and Weiss seemed content with the few details about their guests' situation that they already had been told. They did offer their assurance that the Bennington PD would do everything they could to assist with the investigation into their kidnapping.

Upon their arrival at the police station, Olivia and Peter were ushered inside and given seats in one of the detectives' offices. “Detective Cooper is out on a case right now, and he's okay with you guys using his office for a while,” Ingram told them. “And if you'd like, we can probably find you some extra shoes somewhere.”

“If it's not too much trouble...” Olivia began, but Ingram interrupted quickly.

“Not at all. It's nothing we wouldn't do for any one of our own.”

As he walked off, presumably in the direction of the locker room or somewhere else where extra clothes might be stored, Peter leaned over and said to Olivia in a low voice, “I guess I won't remind him that I'm not technically FBI.”

She just shook her head before getting back to the pastries and fruit that had been offered to them in the waiting area. Her first reaction upon seeing the food, disturbingly enough, had been dissatisfaction that it wasn't meat – but thankfully, she was having no problem finding it appealing now.

“Anything else you need with your breakfast? Coffee?” Weiss asked, coming into the office just as Ingram was returning with shoes for the two of them.

“Yes, please,” Olivia replied, “but first, could I use your bathroom?”

Peter set down his plate and said, “Oh, yeah, I wouldn't mind using the little boys' room, too.”

The officers directed them down the hall after they had put on the shoes. After she had used the facilities, while she washed her hands, Olivia looked at herself in the mirror for the first time in … however many days it had been since they had gone missing. She was, unsurprisingly, a bit unkempt. Her hair was tangled and needed washing – although it could be worse, considering, she mused. She finger-combed it as best as she could. Her cheeks were flushed, which she attributed to a lingering fever.

She used a wet paper towel to clean her face, and as she was throwing it away, her eye was caught by a new needle mark on the crook of her elbow – to match the faded ones she had gotten at the hands of Walternate's scientists. Her jaw clenched. There was also what looked like an IV mark on the back of her left hand.

Furious and sickened at this reminder of what she and Peter had gone through, Olivia nearly ran into Peter as he exited the men's bathroom.

“Whoa,” he said with a smile. “Careful. I'm not back to peak condition yet, so you might be able to knock me over without much effort.” He had made some attempts to tame his hair as well, she noticed distractedly.

“Sorry,” she said quickly, but her smile must not have been all that convincing, because he regarded her more closely.

“Hey, what's wrong, Olivia?”

She blew out her breath, and then pointed to the marks on her arm and her hand. “Look at this.”

Peter's eyes darkened. He was about to speak when Olivia reached for his arm and found identical marks on him. Then he swallowed, his anger still clear. “We're going to find out who's behind this.”

“Yes, we are,” Olivia declared. “And when we do, I think we can agree: they aren't going to know what hit them.”

His answering look was grim. “I like the way you think.”

Though her appetite was lessened by thoughts of what had been done to them, Olivia did manage to eat most of the food on her plate once she got back to the office. The coffee was welcome, for sure. She took a moment just to inhale the scent of it. Peter smiled at her in understanding over the rim of his own coffee mug.

Officers Weiss and Ingram looked in on them every few minutes as they waited for Broyles to arrive. She and Peter were quiet most of the time – still recovering their strength, Olivia guessed. If the chairs had been a little more comfortable, they would both have fallen asleep.

Almost exactly fifty minutes after they had arrived at the Bennington police station, there was a knock on the office door and Broyles pushed it open. “Agent Dunham, Peter,” he greeted them, with obvious relief. “How are you feeling?”

“All right,” Olivia answered, standing up.

“Yeah. I could go for a shower, change of clothes, and about a day of sleep,” Peter said, getting to his feet as well, “but other than that I'm okay.”

Broyles almost smiled. “Well, I'm sure those things can be arranged. But we should get you back home first – and if you're up for it, I'll need a statement from both of you at some point.”

They both voiced their agreement with this plan. As they followed Broyles out of the station, Olivia made sure to thank Officer Weiss and Officer Ingram, and Peter echoed her thanks. This time, Olivia decided to offer to mail back the footwear they had been loaned once they were back in Boston – but Officer Weiss just told her not to worry about it.

As they exited the police station, before Broyles could do more than point toward the waiting SUV, the back doors opened, and Walter and Astrid hurried out onto the sidewalk.

“Peter! Olivia!” Walter cried, rushing toward them. “Oh, I'm so glad you're all right!”

“I was going to tell you that Dr. Bishop and Agent Farnsworth decided to come along,” Broyles remarked wryly, as Walter pulled his son into an embrace that looked like it might knock him off his feet, “but that would be redundant at this juncture, I suppose.”

“It's good to see you, too, Walter,” Peter said, smiling widely but sounding a little strained, “but I'd be even happier to see you if you let me breathe.”

“Oh, yes.” Walter loosened his hold slightly. “Sorry, son.”

“Walter and I decided we didn't want to wait for you guys back in Boston,” Astrid explained. “We've been very worried.”

Olivia met Astrid's concerned but happy gaze. She was about to reply when Walter released Peter and immediately gave her a hug that equalled his for Peter in its intensity. “Yes, I was so worried, Olivia! When you and Peter didn't come back for dinner that night...”

As soon as she was able to breathe, Olivia said, “Well, we didn't mean to scare you, Walter – and thanks for coming to meet us.”

He pulled back to look at her face. “You're welcome, dear,” he told her, smiling again.

Broyles cleared his throat. “Our return flight to Boston leaves in half an hour, so I suggest we get moving.”

Although Walter grumbled a bit at the fairly crowded seating arrangements in the SUV on the way to the airport, the trip passed without incident. Broyles did inform Peter and Olivia that they had been missing for a week, which was at least three more days than either of them could account for in their memories. But Olivia mused that it made sense from what they did know of what had happened to them, that the transformation could not have been effected in a short amount of time.

In return, Olivia and Peter offered up the names they had overheard while in captivity, and the approximate location of the facility in the Green Mountain National Forest. “And we have a lot more to tell,” Peter added, sharing a look with Olivia, “but I think we'd both prefer to save that for when we're back at the lab.”

Walter twisted around to look at them from the passenger's seat. “Is it something that has to be kept secret, then?” he asked anxiously.

“Not exactly,” Peter answered. He paused, searching for the words to make it clearer.

“It's just ... complicated. The kind of thing that no one who hasn't spent time with Fringe Division would believe,” Olivia explained, and Peter nodded.

“Ah,” Walter said, turning back around toward the windshield. “Well, in that case, while I'm not at all pleased that either of you had to undergo an ordeal like this, I must confess I look forward to hearing more about it.”

Peter snorted. “Thanks, Walter. That's very sympathetic of you.”

“But you are going to tell us about your experience, yes?” Walter insisted, sounding slightly hurt. “All I meant was, the more I know about it, the more likely I can help--”

“Relax, it's okay,” Peter interrupted, reaching to lay a hand on his father's shoulder. “I know what you meant. And yes, we are going to tell you.”

“Good.”

“Whatever it is you went through, will you two be needing a hospital?” Broyles inquired. “I can have transport ready for you both when we arrive.”

Olivia had already considered this idea. “I don't think so,” she told him. “Any tests and bloodwork that need to be done can be done at the lab.” It was a mark of how much her trust in Walter had grown over the years that this option didn't disturb her at all.

“All right.” Broyles met her eye in the rearview mirror for a moment before returning his focus to the road.

If the flight back to Boston had been any longer than it was (once they got into the air it was less than twenty minutes), Olivia might have found herself giving in to her exhaustion and falling asleep in her seat. As it was, it must have been nervous energy that kept her awake and alert throughout the trip. Peter stayed awake as well, although that might have had more to do with the fact that he was sitting across the aisle from her, next to Walter, who seemed to think it was necessary to bring Peter up to speed on everything he had missed while he was gone, including such important details as the menu for every single meal Walter had eaten.

In contrast, Olivia's seatmate was Astrid. Beyond telling Olivia again that she was glad to see Peter and her back safely, Astrid was her usual perceptive self and didn't try to engage Olivia in conversation.

Olivia was so wrapped up in her own thoughts about the past few days that the pilot's announcement that they were about to land almost made her jump. She looked across the aisle at Peter and saw that he was looking her way as well – and his amused/concerned expression told her he'd witnessed her reaction. She just shrugged and gave him a wry smile.

Broyles' authority got their group through security with a minimum of hassle. As their vehicle took them along the familiar roads leading to Harvard, Olivia felt herself relax. It was good to be back, in this place that had come to feel more like home than anywhere else she had ever lived.

“Home, sweet home, huh?” Peter said, echoing her thoughts as he bent forward to look out her window.

“Yeah.”

As soon as they were inside the lab, Broyles said, “Now, Dunham, Bishop, if you're feeling up to it, anything else you can tell us about your experience would be useful.”

Peter nodded, but Olivia said, “Before we do, can you tell us what you'd found in your investigation?”

“Not a lot, unfortunately,” Broyles replied.

“We had security camera footage from the zoo,” Astrid put in, “but the angle wasn't great. All we could see was you guys walking toward your car, then being hit by something we couldn't see and going down, and then four men dressed in black dragging you out of sight.”

“Yes, and no matter how we tried,” Walter added, looking distressed at the memory, “we couldn't get anymore useful information from the footage. And there wasn't any evidence left at the scene, as I recall.”

“That's correct,” Broyles confirmed. “Apparently no one at the zoo saw anything, either, although they thought they remembered you entering and leaving.”

“So, you were pretty much at a dead end, then,” Peter summarized, and Astrid nodded regretfully. “Well, we'll fill in as many blanks as we can.”

The two of them began their tale. Olivia started, but Peter chimed in frequently. Their audience had almost identical expressions of shock and amazement when they each described waking up in the back of the truck in tiger form, and Walter was fairly vibrating with excitement when they passed along their theories as to how this could have happened.

“Oh, yes, it would have had to be very advanced sort of genetic manipulation for you both to be completely transformed in the way you're describing,” he said, hurrying over to a specific shelf and getting out two empty vials. “If you will permit me, I would like to draw some of your blood as soon as possible, to see what – if any – traces might remain. This could not only shed some light on how whoever it was managed to modify your DNA, but it could also help us track them down, depending on what we find.”

“Fine,” Peter said. “I'll go first.” He sat down in the chair in the middle of the lab, and while Walter and Astrid worked together to draw a vial quickly and efficiently, he continued the story. “So after we figured out what had most likely happened to us, the next thing we tried to figure out is why – why someone would expend the effort to kidnap us and change us into tigers.” At that, Peter laughed and rubbed his other hand across his face. “Listen to me, talking like it doesn't sound completely and utterly insane to use the phrase 'change us into tigers,' in reference to something that actually happened.”

Walter looked up from putting the stopper on the vial of Peter's blood. “Yes, it certainly isn't something you hear about every day – not even among the sorts of cases we usually investigate!” He was delighted, but at Peter's look he cleared his throat. “Uh, Olivia, may I--?”

“Sure.” After Peter had vacated the chair, Olivia sat down, exchanging an amused glance with Astrid at Walter's excitement. As the younger agent prepared Olivia's arm for the blood draw, Olivia took up the tale. “So, our best guess was some kind of a smuggling operation, and since we weren't dead already, we figured they wanted us alive for whatever their end goal was.”

“A reasonable deduction,” Walter agreed with a nod. “This may sting a little, my dear.”

Olivia turned her gaze away as the needle went in, and continued, “Since tigers are endangered, we thought maybe they were planning either to sell us to the highest bidder among zoos or collectors, or that our kidnappers were eco-terrorists who were planning to bring us to some place in the world where tigers naturally live.”

“Oh, wow,” Astrid remarked, eyebrows raised. “That's taking efforts to save endangered animals a little too seriously, I'd say.”

“It gets better,” Peter said darkly, crossing his arms. “We found a case labeled with ID numbers for each of us in the back of the truck, with some kind of chemical or something inside. That, on top of the fact that they took us both at the same time and had two cages set up in the truck, made us pretty sure that they were hoping for an end result of more than two tigers to contribute to the wild population.”

Astrid's face showed her outrage, as did Broyles'. Walter took another moment before he made the connection, but then he looked indignant. “Well, that would be simply intolerable! When you and Olivia have children, Peter, you're going to be somewhere nearby so I can see my grandchildren often – not somewhere halfway around the world, in who knows what terrible conditions.”

Olivia saw Peter's mortified expression for a moment before he covered his face with his hands. She was sure she was blushing, herself.

“Walter...” Astrid shook her head, hiding a smile.

Broyles cleared his throat. “You said you were able to find that case in the back of the truck, Peter, but you were both in cages. How did you manage to get out to search the rest of the truck?”

“That,” Peter replied, “is a very good question.” He looked from Broyles to Olivia, meeting her gaze with pride clearly visible in his own. “It was all thanks to Olivia.”

Olivia dropped her gaze to her hands. Even after the additional evidence their escape had provided of the existence of this facet of her abilities, she still didn't exactly feel comfortable with it.

“She unlocked the cage doors,” Peter continued, when she didn't speak. “And then later, after the truck exited the highway, she opened the back of the truck, too.”

Walter's eyes widened, and he turned to regard Olivia. “You mean, just like that case with the light box a few years ago, Olivia? You used your mind to move objects?”

“It was the only way we could think of to get out of there before we got wherever we were going,” she said, shrugging and looking down again. “I didn't know if it would work or not, but I had to try.”

“Fascinating. So whatever procedure was done to transform you, it must not have altered your brain chemistry enough to remove the effects of the Cortexiphan.” Then he pointed between her and Peter. “And during all this time, how were you communicating with Peter?”

“As bizarre as this whole thing continues to sound,” Olivia answered, “telepathy.”

“Really?” Walter beamed. “That's wonderful! Are you two still able to communicate in the same fashion?”

Olivia looked at Peter. She hadn't considered it, but obviously nothing was too bizarre at this point. He returned the look, smiling, and said, “Okay, what are am I thinking right now?”

Half-serious, Olivia listened, but didn't get anything. “I have no idea.” She thought at him, How about you, are you getting this, Peter?

Peter didn't reply, which she took as a negative. “I don't think it works anymore, Walter.”

Looking highly disappointed, Walter turned his attention back to dealing with the blood samples from her and from Peter. “Hmm. The sudden appearance and then disappearance of telepathic abilities between the two of you while in tiger form will require more thought. I can't explain it at all at the moment.”

“If anyone can figure it out, Walter,” Peter said with a note of affection in his voice, “it's you.”

The two of them resumed their telling of the past few days' events. After they once again passed along the names of the doctors that they'd overheard, Broyles looked at Astrid – but before he could speak, she was already nodding. “I'll do a search for any Dr. West or Dr. Berg operating out of the Massachusetts or Vermont area, to see if anyone by those names who specializes in bioengineering or related fields shows up, or anyone who might have ties to eco-terrorist groups.”

“Good,” Broyles said. He turned back to Olivia and Peter, who were now standing next to each other in the center of the lab. “Can you remember any other details that might help us track down the people behind this whole operation?”

“Uh, well, when we left the highway, it sounded like we were slowing down to prepare to stop,” Olivia told him. “That was about two hours after the truck met up with Dr. West – and she said it would take about two hours from where we stopped to get to the facility.”

The agent nodded. “All right. That will help us narrow down a search radius. And you said after you got out of the truck, you found yourself in the national forest next to Highway 7?”

“That's right,” Peter confirmed.

“How did you guys end up as humans again, anyway?” Astrid asked, looking up for a moment from her computer.

“Yes, I was going to ask the same question,” Walter remarked. He was still busy with their blood samples, but clearly still listening in.

Peter shrugged. “Well, we can only guess, but based on the fact that we both started to feel progressively more sick as we were trying to head further south through the forest, and then it got incredibly awful, and then we woke up as ourselves again, we're guessing it was--”

“Rejection of the foreign DNA, of course!” Walter interjected. To Broyles and the room at large, he explained, “Our immune system will reject anything foreign that enters the body, which is why transplant patients must always receive anti-rejection drugs even if the donor is a family member – unless the transplant occurs between identical twins, of course, as they share nearly all of their DNA in common.” Then he looked at Olivia and Peter again. “I would theorize that the people who took you administered anti-rejection drugs when they first modified your DNA, and then perhaps another dose before you woke up in the truck. They no doubt intended to give you more after you arrived at the facility where you were being taken.”

“That would make sense,” Olivia replied. She was just glad that Dr. West hadn't decided to try to administer their next doses when she met with the truck, although of course she and Peter would not have passively allowed her to do so. “Could traces of those drugs show up in our bloodwork?”

Walter frowned. “Well, it has been a significant amount of time since you last received a dose, as indicated by your immune response and subsequent return to your human forms. It's worth checking for, though.”

A yawn cut off Olivia's attempt to continue the story, and Broyles quickly said, “What you both have told us so far will give us enough to begin our search for your kidnappers. For now, I want you to go home and get some rest, and be ready to give your official statements tomorrow.” His gaze traveled from Peter to Olivia. “It's good to have you back.”

“Thank you, sir,” Olivia said, smiling a little. She figured getting to sleep tonight would not be a problem; in fact she was fairly certain that she'd have trouble staying awake at all after she showered and changed.

“Good to be back,” Peter said.

With another nod to each of them and a promise that he would get the ball rolling on a search for the facility, Broyles left.

Peter looked at Olivia. “I don't know about you,” he said, “but I don't think I'm safe to drive at this point.”

“No,” Olivia agreed, “I don't think I am, either.” She turned to Astrid. “Could you...?”

Astrid smiled. “Yeah, I'll drive you two. Just let me get my keys.” She got up from her computer.

“Peter,” Walter said, leaving the various pieces of equipment he had been monitoring to hurry over to his son, “do you want me to come with you? I know this analysis is important, but I don't want to leave you by yourself at home.”

Peter put his hand on Walter's shoulder and said, “Thanks, Walter, but I'll be okay.” He shared another look with Olivia. “There's no need for me to be alone, either.”

As Olivia returned his smile, Walter glanced between them. “Oh! Well, in that case, I won't worry.” He gave Peter a pat on the arm, and then turned to Olivia. “You look after each other, my dear.”

“We will.”

~ 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very odd story, I realize. Furthermore, I realize that if readers of this story happen to have read certain of my _X-Files_ or _In Plain Sight_ stories on LJ, they may notice that I seem to have a thing for writing this kind of storyline. I can't give you an explanation for this fact, but I can thank you for reading in spite of it!  
>  Also, I sincerely apologize for any geographical errors regarding Vermont and/or Massachusetts. I did research the geography of the area as well as I could, but I have no personal experience to go on.


End file.
